


The Beginning of the End

by Bixiayu



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: :(, Angst, Avengers avengering, Fainting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Inspired by Promo art, Isolation, M/M, Nosebleeds, Pain, Protective Steve, Sadness, Sickness, Slow Burn, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Tony Appreciation Celebration Day, Steve and Tony still hate eachother, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony is Iron Man, Wakanda, after civil war, im sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 04:43:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13967574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bixiayu/pseuds/Bixiayu
Summary: United, the Avengers once stood.After the events of Civil War, divided they all fell, one by one. With what happened in Siberia, Steve and Tony hadn't spoken in years.How could they?It was quiet between all of them before an even bigger threat slowly emerged. Thanos, the mad Titan wanted to collect all six infinity stones to wreak havoc on the earth. The Soul stone was said to be the most powerful and dangerous.And it was right in Tony's chest, keeping him alive.Begrudgingly, Tony agreed with the Avengers that he should stay out of this fight, at least until they have a foolproof way of defeating Thanos. If Tony was on the field, he would be too much of a liability.  The plan was for him to hide out in the rural parts Wakanda away from all the danger, but... not alone.Steve had to come with him.





	The Beginning of the End

 

“No.”

 

Tony’s mind was set, and nothing any of the other Avengers could say would make him agree with their proposal.

 

There was no way in _hell_ he was going to sit back and hide when his team members would need his help in ending Thanos. Tony crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes locked with Stephen Strange’s.  “I’m coming.”

 

Tony and the Avengers were sitting in the living area of the New Avengers compound. It had only been a couple days since they learned of Thanos and what his plans were for Earth. Long story short, the Titan's plan was to collect all six infinity stones and destroy everything in existence.

 

 _“Balancing the universe,”_ he often said.

 

Unfortunately, he already had two; the Space stone and the Power stone. If Tony was being honest with himself, one was too much for Thanos to have obtained already. The Reality, Time, and Mind stone were, thankfully, out of Thanos’ reach.

 

But the Soul stone…

 

/That/ was right in Tony’s chest.

 

Powering his arc reactor.

 

Keeping him alive.

 

Vision cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. At first, he turned his guilty eyes away before turning towards Tony. “Anthony… I don’t believe that is a good idea.” He said cautiously, being careful not to feed into the uneasy feelings already. “The soul stone is said to be the most dangerous and powerful stone in existence.”

 

“If Thanos finds out that you have the stone, he would stop at nothing to get it from you.”

 

“On the battlefield…” Vision continued, “You would be too much of a liability.”

 

“At the present moment, he does not know that _you_ possess the stone, and I think it would be in everyone’s best interest if we kept it that way.”

 

“I’ve got some new tech I’ve been working on.” Tony objected, “Can’t I use it to hide the power of the stone or something?”

 

“Tony...” Stephen sighed.

 

Tony’s eyes bounced from Vision’s to the floor. Maybe he did have a point, but Stark knew that becoming dead weight to the team wasn’t going to help anyone. They were probably outnumbered with the unknown size of Thanos’ soldiers, and they needed all the help they could get.

 

There had to be something he could do to help. _Anything_.

 

“Y’know Tony…” Nat spoke up. She brushed some of her silver hair from her eyes as she looked around at the other teammates for reassurance. Her voice shook the tiniest bit before she steadied it. “Vision is right. If Thanos gets his hands on the soul stone… it’s over. I don’t want to admit this,” she shook her head, “but having you out there would be too much of a risk.”

 

“A _risk_ we can’t take.” Stephen interrupted.

 

Rhodey put his hand on Tony’s shoulder and gave a slight squeeze. “I don’t want to see you gone…” He said, “But I think this is for the best…”

 

With quiet eyes, Tony looked around the room. Nat, Vision, and Bruce were all gazing at him, begging him to cooperate. Peter, on the other hand, had fear scribbled all over them. Tony could see the glassy-eyed teen biting his tongue, trying to keep his mouth shut.

 

When Tony turned to Bucky, the super soldier’s guilty eyes made contact with his for a split second before turning down. His fingers traced over his metal one, slowly grazing over the new gold streaks.

 

 _Figures_.

 

And Steve?

 

Tony didn't even bother looking at Steve.

 

Rhodey shook Tony’s shoulder a bit, removing him his trance. “It’s okay, Tones.”

 

Tony sighed before he silently agreed. Maybe this was all for the best. If he were on the battlefield, then he would only be seconds away from Thanos or one of his warriors ripping the stone out of his chest. Perhaps he would be a sitting duck in god knows where, but if it was a temporary solution to keep Thanos from getting the stone, then it was worth it.

Tony exhaled, shaking his head, “Fine,” he said. “I’ll leave.”

 

“Not alone, you’re not,” Strange said.

 

At that moment, Peter didn’t hesitate to shoot up from his seat. “I’ll do it… ” he blurted, voice breaking. “I c-can... I can try to keep Mr. Stark safe.”

 

Strange shifted his attention to the tiny brunette. “No, we need _you_ stationed in New York.”

 

“I have no problem dragging Banner along with me,” Tony said.

 

T’Challa shook his head, ”He will be stationed on the front lines in Wakanda. Perhaps we could get Thor… or one of the guardians to-”

 

 _“I’ll go.”_ A deep, but all too familiar voice spoke up. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Tony safe.”

 

Tony would recognize _that_ sound anywhere. Hell, it was even in his nightmares sometimes. It often yelled at him while a shield was piercing his armor, banging painfully on his chest. Subconsciously, Tony brought his hand to his arc reactor as he held it there for a few seconds. Slowly, he turned towards Steve and locked eyes with him for the first time since he came out of hiding about two weeks ago.

 

Steve’s dark blue eyes stared at Tony from across the room. Everything in Tony’s peripheral vision faded away the longer he stared at him. It was as if Tony didn’t really see Steve. He only saw the old recurring memories that sometimes made him scream himself awake. He would often wake up in his empty room, sweating and crying as he only had the dark glow of his arc reactor to keep him company.

 

While he looked at Steve… he tightened his hand on his arc reactor. The phantom pain of Steve stabbing his shield through his chest made his mind replay the sound of his ribs cracking, breaking under the pressure.

 

As if he could forget about being left in Siberia watching as Steve’s backside slowly faded into the distance, for Bucky.  

 

When he looked at Steve… all he saw was pain and betrayal.

 

The reminder was an endless loop in his mind, of his screams, his pleading, and the thought that Steve was actually going to kill him.

 

Steve.

 

/His/ Steve.

 

Abruptly, Tony shot up as he locked his gaze onto the only exit. He couldn’t think about that, not now anyway. The last thing he wanted was _another_ panic attack in front of all the Avengers. Whenever he had them before, Tony considered himself lucky because he always had Rhodey to get him through them in private.  

 

He could hear his “ _friends”_  calling after him, but he didn’t stop, how could he?

 

After _all_ the conversations he had in his head about what he would say to Steve when he saw him again, fear still crept through his bloodstream, freezing his body over.

 

Steve lied to him and chose

someone else over him.

 

_‘No. Not today.’_

 

_‘Stop.’_

 

When Tony entered his room, he silently closed the door, hands shaking violently. His breathing quickened as the room started spinning. With clammy hands, he braced himself on his bed, keeping himself upright. Every single ounce of pain came back to him as it radiated in his chest. At that moment, he wished that someone could kick him out of his mind he hated these thoughts that he couldn’t stop.

 

Trembling as water filled his eyes and the back of his throat began to sting, he made his way towards his bathroom. When he reached the sink, he splashed cold water on his face, trying to calm himself down.

 

_Don’t cry, Stark._

 

_Don’t cry._

 

_He isn’t worth your tears._

 

“Five…” Tony whispered to himself as he buried his head in his hands.

 

“Four…”

 

It’s what Rhodey made him do to help control his breathing and ground him back to reality whenever something like this happened.

 

Tony didn’t know where he would be without Rhodey.

 

“Three…”

 

“Two…”

 

“One…”

 

Tony sniffled as he wiped off the excess water with one of the towels. He knew he could get through this. With the threat of Thanos and him having the fucking Soul stone in his chest, Steve should be the least of his problems.Although, Tony hoped that Rogers didn't think that this was some way of trying to apologize for what he did. Tony didn't need Steve to take care of him.

 

He never did, and he never will.

 

Sluggishly, Tony walked over to his closet, staring at his endless array of clothes. He hoped he wouldn't be gone long, but at this point, the future seemed murky. What was really to come as a result of this?

 

What would happen if Thanos did find him… even if he were hiding?

 

What if the team _needed_ him and he couldn’t help?

 

What if there was a place Tony knew he needed to be… but couldn’t go because he was too much of a _‘liability’_?

 

He threw two jackets onto his bed along with a pair of jeans. Progress.

 

_Knock_

 

_Knock_

 

_Knock_

 

Tony hesitated as the fear traveled back through his body.

 

Was… was it Steve?

 

His fist clenched as he bit his bottom lip. If it was, then he didn’t really care. If Steve had the audacity to show up to his room, Tony wouldn't hesitate to punch him in the jaw. He may break his hand in the process… but it would be worth it.

 

He isn't going to let Stevie control his emotions… not anymore.

 

He inhaled before quickly saying, “Come in.”

 

The door handle clicked quietly before he heard footsteps padding on the carpet. “M-Mr.Stark?” The soft voice called.

 

Tony looked up to see Peter standing in the middle of his room. He trembled slightly as he fiddled with his fingers. He appeared to be smaller as his slouched shoulders stole some of his height. Tony stared quietly as Peter’s large eyes were filled with tears threatening to pour out.

 

“Pete…”

 

The small brunette ran into Tony’s arms as he was engulfed in a large hug by his mentor. Tony used one of his hands to rub Peter’s back. “Shhhh…” He whispered, “You’re going to be alright I promise.”

 

“I d-don’t - I don’t w-want you to go,” Peter whispered as he buried his head into Tony’s shoulder. “P-Please don’t… please don’t go...”

 

Tony just held the kid for a little while as he shushed his cries. “It's okay...” Tony murmured. “I know you’re gonna do great, kid.” He knew how strong Peter was, and how if anyone of them was going to make it out of this alive, it would be him. It had to be.

 

“N-Not without you.”

 

Tony pulled away, staring right into the brunette’s teary eyes. He used his free hand to wipe the tears trailing down Peter’s cheek. He tried to give Peter a reassuring smile, hoping that it would make the kid feel better in some way, but he knew that it wouldn’t.

 

Peter wanted him to stay, but Tony knew he couldn’t. He would be too much of a liability.

 

Too much of a risk.

 

He would have to do this, even if it meant leaving one of the people he cared most about.

 

_Peter._

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the new infinity stone promo art (;_____;)
> 
> I'm sad and soft don't touch me


End file.
